Worlds Apart – Guest Blog by Author Ella Drake

As a reader, I read and love a variety of Romance. From historical to futuristic, from hockey contemporary romance to medieval fantasy romance with knights and dragons. But in the interest of the discussion here, I do admit that I love to read techy, geeky romance. So when it comes to Science Fiction Romance, I enjoy everything from light tech to a complete gadget-fest.

As an author, when setting up a new story, which do I prefer? Light or heavy scifi? The answer to that is easy, both! What interests me is juxtaposing societies with advanced tech against older tech. I touched on this a bit with my space western, Silver Bound (http://elladrake.com/SilverBound.htm). Seeing how people work within the two different settings, and how that created conflict between a hero and heroine, is intriguing to me.

In MetalMark (http://elladrake.com/MetalMark.htm), the hero is from a planet still in a steam age while the heroine is in an advanced society—but a society that still sees its share of greed and war. There are gadgets. Every one of them is there for a purpose. To illustrate this difference between the hero and heroine from a purely societal point of view. Because inside, they can’t help their attraction to one another. The outer trappings of tech and government can’t stop the piratey heroine from falling like a puddle of goo for the hero. One such scene, soon after their first meeting, shows how the varying tech backgrounds makes a chasm open between them, one difficult to imagine them crossing.

The contraption–he had no words to name it–outside the villa made no sense to him. A large arrow sank into the ground. Attached to it, a cable reached out of sight into the sky.

“Hurry. The anchor can hold steady as long as the security net doesn’t close.”

“Anchor?” Confusion warred with dread but he kept his question even-toned. “What does it anchor?”

“My ship. Let’s go.” With a swish of her sabre, she stepped onto the heavy metallic arrow, one hand on her weapon, the other gripping the shaft of the anchor. She nodded for him to climb onto the other side

With her strange sword no longer at his throat and her attention on the heavy metal rope disappearing into the clouds, he could run. He didn’t know if she’d catch up or attack him with her weapon before he could reach a secure spot. But a pinch in his gut, the kick to the beat of his heart, and the itch to mate combined with a surge of excitement. He grinned. Like riding the rails with Sara on a handcart as a kid, a forbidden and dangerous joyride, he couldn’t resist the lure Jazz represented. The urges overpowered the niggling guilt to stay and fight for his planet. He hesitated. His fate somehow intertwined with Jazz, mate or no, and she’d be the one to help him free his people.

There could be no other reason she stood in his path.

No other reason he’d come here, to this decision point. Jazz had a part to play in this.

He would go.

Barefoot, he stepped onto the leg of the anchor. It vibrated beneath him. His toes curled around the warm metal rod barely smaller than the curve of his foot. He wrapped his hand around the cable jerking in minute pulls upward.

“You haven’t worn shoes this entire time?” The shock in Jazz’s voice gave him a small thrill of satisfaction. Unusual though it might have seemed, giving her a surprise soothed him somewhat–until the cable in his hand bucked.

So much of what comes between them goes back to this difference in societal and tech background, but in the end, it’s who they are as people, and their mutual attraction, that sets the stage for their romance.

From the billionaire and his maid, the king and the daughter of his enemy, to the alien and his abductee, these stories are the bread and butter of romance. Tell me, what do you think? What’s your favorite worlds apart story?

I’ll pick a random commenter to win any title from my backlist. Give me those worlds apart stories!!

5 thoughts on “Worlds Apart – Guest Blog by Author Ella Drake”

Would love to win this. Love Ella’s writing, always have. The first ‘worlds apart’ story that comes to mind is the classic Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. It’s one of my favorite books of all time, although not a romance in the sense I think ya’ll are talking about. Hmm, probably then I’d have to say The Down Home Zombie Blues by Linnea Sinclair. I liked the fact that the heroine was the one who had the advanced tech and was the warrior and the commander in charge, while the hero was a human homicide detective in contemporary Florida. I loved the humor laced through out the story as well. My favorite of Ella’s books Desire The Banshee, is sort of a worlds apart in that Sean is deaf, but not in the literal sense. I loved the heroine, Daisy, btw. My fav bean sidhe. 😀

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